


Monday Blues

by Phok



Series: The Art of Love [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26556274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phok/pseuds/Phok
Summary: When Nico is in a rush to get to work, the last thing he needs is to accidentally rear-end an expensive sports car. Never mind that the driver is incredibly stunning. Mondays are terrible days of the week.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Jason Grace
Series: The Art of Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1965352
Comments: 4
Kudos: 79





	Monday Blues

The thing about living in New York City is that traffic is terrible. Generally, it’s easier and faster to just walk, but Nico Di Angelo had overslept and ruined any chances of having a peaceful morning. His presentation to the new R&D staff was due to start in 25 minutes, and his current route was going to take him at least another 30. He was late, and he hated being late with a passion. 

He gripped the steering wheel tightly and resisted the urge to stamp on his jaguar's pedal. He needed to get to The Underworld Headquarters as fast as possible, but slamming into another car would not be helpful. So instead he gently put his foot on the gas and eased through the god awful traffic. Just another stupid Monday. 

He watched the light turn yellow and slowed, even as other cars honked at him. He preferred to think of himself as a safe driver, but Hazel said that he drove like an elder. Whatever, she was wrong. He reached for his cup holder and took a slow sip of his ice coffee. It was worth it, even if it was another reason he was late now. He couldn’t do the meeting without coffee, hell he couldn’t do the entire day without coffee. 

He kept his eyes on the road but caught a gleaming blue from the side. He glanced over and did a double-take. To his right was a beautiful bright blue Bugatti, and the driver was drop-dead gorgeous. His hair was golden-yellow, and even though his face was hidden by sunglasses he looked breathtaking. Naturally, Nico quickly shifted his gaze away. He shouldn't be looking at other drivers, no matter how attractive they were. It was more important that he focus on getting to work on time. He had a presentation and he had to focus on. 

His phone buzzed over the Bluetooth and he hit the answer button without thinking. 

“This is Nico,” he greeted. 

“Hey - “ His father’s cold voice greeted him. 

Overall he had a good relationship with his father, but the man came off as cold and aloof without really meaning to. Especially over the phone. 

“I’m sorry, I’m gonna be late.” It was easier to cut straight to the point. 

“I gathered when you weren’t here 20 minutes early.” He responded. Tone deep and dry. 

“Do you think you can hold them off for me?” He hated asking his father for favors. Not because he wouldn’t do it for him, but because he would, and he’d expect nothing in return. It always made him feel guilty. 

In front of him, the blue Bugatti singled a want to merge. He slowed and allowed them room to maneuver. The driver waved back at him, the universal signal for ‘thanks.’ He nodded, hoping the drive caught his movement in the rear-view mirror. 

“Of course, but your sister Hazel is here from HR to talk to you. One of the new hires has some accommodations, and you’ll need to get up to speed before they start any projects.” 

Nico nodded, even though his father couldn’t see him. It was normal in his line of work. Hazel hired people with the best qualifications, it didn’t matter if they had special circumstances or not. If they were the best they were the best, and they got hired. 

“Okay, no problem. Do I need to chat with her before the -”

All at once, traffic came to a halt and Nico found himself slamming on his brakes. The car skidded to an almost stop, but the water from last night's rain made the road slippery, and his vehicle hydroplane into the Bugatti with a loud clack. “Shit!” He snapped. 

“Are you alright?” His father asked, worry clear in his tone. 

Nico cursed again. “I just hit someone.” he snapped angrily at himself. He’d never been in an accident before. 

“Are you alright?” His father repeated. 

Nico looked down at himself, he had coffee all over his clothes and the floor of his vehicle. He could feel the tension building in his upper back and his neck was already starting to ache. But the airbags hadn’t gone off, and he hadn’t been going that fast when they connected. So there wasn’t much damage to his person. His car on the other hand - well he wasn’t sure about that. The Bugatti looked dented, but luckily not that badly. Even still, he didn't want to imagine what the repairs on a luxury sports car went for. 

“Fuck.” He snapped. “I’m fine, but the car in front of me isn't and I’m gonna be super late.” He wanted to slam his head into the steering wheel until he passed out. 

“Language.” His father chided. “I’ll handle things here, just take your time and make sure you go to the hospital. I don’t want you stepping foot into this building without a doctor's note.” 

Nico frowned. “It’s not a work-related incident,” he complained. 

“I don’t care. Call me when you're done at the hospital. Or if you need a ride.” His father cut the call. 

Nico waved at the other driver and motioned to the other side of the road so that they weren’t blocking traffic. Then carefully he maneuvered through the terrible traffic until he could pull over. 

He leaned over the passenger seat and grabbed his insurance information. It was just his luck that the one car he decided to accidentally hit was a damn Bugatti. His insurance rates were going to skyrocket. 

He grabbed the necessary items and stepped out of his car. Then he made his way to the front of it. Despite not going very fast, the entire front bumper was caved in and cracked. He didn’t even want to see the Bugatti now. 

He leaned against the hood, as the car passed him and took a deep breath. The other driver was going to kill him, and he didn’t even blame him for it. He rubbed his face and steeled himself for the yelling. 

Mr. Gorgeous opened his car door and stepped out of the vehicle with his phone pressed to his ear. “Well, I’m running behind now. So you’ll have to make up an excuse,” he said in a smooth voice that sent a tingle down Nico’s spine. 

Nico shifted against his car and then pulled out his phone, taking some photos of the damage, and then the other guy's car. He would need to send these to his insurance agent. The rear of the Bugatti was smashed in, and he knew just by looking at it that the entire bumper would need to be replaced. He didn’t even want to think about what that might cost. 

“I’m sorry Leo, not much I can do about it now. Just extend my apologies.” He said while he pulled the phone away from his ear. “Sorry about that. It’s a little rude, but I had to cancel an appointment.” The gorgeous man explained with a slight smile. 

“I’m so sorry,” Nico started. “It was an accident, I wasn’t paying attention and I guess everything stopped at once.” He tried to explain. 

The man offered him an easy smile. “Honestly, I didn’t want to go to that appointment, so you did me a favor.” He looked over the rear of his vehicle and whistled a little. “Looks like you did some damage, but your car isn't in any better condition.” He dropped into a crouch inspecting the lower bumper. 

Nico swallowed a little. The other man was oddly friendly. Despite Nico ruining his 350 + thousand dollar car. 

“I can pay for the damages,” he said promptly. “Here this is my insurance card.” He thrust the card at the man. 

“Oh, thank you. I’m Jason by the way. I didn’t catch your name?” He asked politely. Taking the cards from Nico’s hand and standing up. 

He reached into his pockets for a second and pulled out his phone once more. Then he took a photo of each card and handed them back to Nico. 

It probably wasn’t the best idea Nico had, to give his driver license to someone he didn’t know, but he was too flustered to care. 

“Thank you, I’m Nico.” He said putting the cards back into his pocket. “Can I - can I have your information?” He wasn’t sure how this was supposed to go. But an exchange of information was normal...right? 

Jason nodded and reached into his jacket pocket pulling his open insurance card and license out. He glanced at Nico as he handed them over. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t take a picture of my license. I don’t like people knowing where I live.” He seemed to be waiting for a reaction out of Nico. 

Nico just started and then moved into action in jerky movements. “Sure - I understand. I could be a serial killer, you want to be safe.” He nodded and accepted only the insurance card. He snapped a photo of it and handed it back to him. “Thank you, Jason. You’re being polite about this and I know it was 100% my fault.” He blathered on. 

Jason laughed but his eyes were sharp as they looked Nico over. “Is this your first time?” He asked. “Because I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to admit fault.” 

Nico bit his lip hard and prayed to every god in the entire world that the ground would open up and swallow him. “Yeah...I guess I aim high. Seeing as how the first car I hit had to be a freaking Bugatti.” he sighed to himself. 

Jason blinked at him and cocked his head to the side. Slowly he took off his sunglasses and looked at Nico expectantly. Like he was waiting for a big reaction or something. 

Nico wasn’t sure what he wanted, but he guessed if he had eyes so blue the sky was envious he might be anticipating a reaction as well. So naturally, like the dork he was, he opened up his mouth and said. “Wow, your eyes are really beautiful. Are you wearing contacts?” 

“No, I wear glasses normally. But these are prescription.” he gestured with the sunglasses in his hand. He paused as if waiting again for Nico to do … something. 

“Okay, well I should probably get out of here. I have a work thing, and my dad won’t let me do my job until I’ve “seen a doctor.” I mean what’s the point of working with family if all they do is harass you.” he found himself complaining. Like an idiot to the man whom he hit with his car. 

“I think some would say that’s exactly the point of working with family. Which is why I’m lucky that I don’t.” 

Nico nodded - sometimes he wished he could get away from it all, but he loved the company too much to leave it. “Make sense, I wish you’d been there on my first day.” Okay...that sounded...so...ugh. “You know so I could have quit.” Why was he awkward around beautiful men?

Jason laughed again. “I’m sorry - I wish past Jason could have been there for you.” He glanced down at Nico’s hands. “Maybe we should trade phone numbers, in case I need to call you for more information.” 

Nico looked down at his phone and nodded, “Yeah, okay just don’t drunk dial me at 3 in the morning. I have enough friends that do that. Well - I have one friend that does that. But it’s more than enough.” He explained waving his hands as he spoke. Damn it. 

“I can promise, no 3 am drunk calls. Or drunk calls at all, I hardly ever drink.” He pushed his glasses back on his face and grinned at Nico. “Here let me put it in.” He took Nico’s smooth black phone and started typing away. Then he handed it back. “Text me if you don’t mind so I have your number.” 

Nico glanced down at the phone and typed in a simple “Hi.” There was no need for anything fancy. 

“Perfect,” Jason said warmly. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Nico. If you wouldn’t mind, please wait to report the accident to your insurance. I might just pay for it out-of-pocket. I wouldn’t want both our insurance to go up.” 

Nico nodded in agreement. “Well I mean - I have to report mine.” He could afford to pay for it out-of-pocket, but then what was the point in insurance. 

Jason nodded. “If you want to, that's fine, but I’d be willing to pay for your damages too.” He said. 

Nico blinked. “But I hit you,” he said stupidly. 

Jason nodded again. “And?”

Nico frowned. “And I’m at fault.” 

Jason smiled. “I have more than enough money to pay for the damages. To both our vehicles, I’d be happy to pay for it.” 

Nico frowned. “I can pay for myself, but thank you.” 

“Sorry - I hope that wasn’t offensive.” He looked like a kicked puppy. 

“No it was fine, I just - I have money and I work as the head of the R&D for Underworld Technologies. Money isn't a problem for me.” He felt stupid for saying it but he didn’t want Jason to think he was asking for charity. 

“Oh wow, you are pretty smart.” He looked down at Nico’s phone. “So did I just get a sneak peek at the newest Styx model?” He asked. 

Nico blushed hotly, he’d forgotten about that when he handed his phone over. “You did.” 

“Damn!” Jason swore. “I barely even looked at it.” 

Nico smiled. “Well how about - I’ll get an estimate and if it’s not too much money I’ll float you an unreleased phone, and you can pay for the damages?” he knew he was shamelessly using this as an excuse to see Jason again. But he couldn’t help it, he was weak for beautiful men. 

Jason beamed at him. “Oh, it’s worth it for me. But don’t get yourself in trouble.” 

Nico shrugged. “My dad owns the company so what can he do?” He didn’t mean it as a brag he just wanted Jason to know that he wasn’t risking his job. 

Jason laughed. “Oh I see - that's the family you meant. Wow.” 

Nico shifted awkwardly. “Yeah - my dad can be very overbearing.” 

“I don’t doubt that.” Jason sighed, looking down at his phone. It was vibrating in his hand. “Well I have to take this, but please let me know about that estimate. And a new phone.” He cracked a smile and turned around. “I look forward to hearing from you.” 

Nico swallowed thickly. If only he meant that the way he wanted him too. “Thank you for being so nice. I’ll be in touch,” he called out, and then carefully stepped around his vehicle and got back inside. He hadn’t noticed how cold he was until he sat down in the warm car. He rubbed his arms a little and breathed deeply. Right the hospital. His Dad was being a pain. 

“Jason Grace.” He said aloud. He’d caught his last name when he read over his insurance policy. He was an enigma for sure, but for whatever the name sounded vaguely familiar. He just couldn’t place why. He decided not to give it too much thought and turned the key in the ignition. He was very elated when his vehicle started again. 

Carefully he put the car in drive and made his way to the hospital for a quick check-up. He tried to make himself focus on driving but his mind kept wandering back to Jason. He seemed pretty cool, if a little strange, and he couldn’t help but hope that he would see him again. 

As he drove he made a checklist - get checked out, get an estimate, and then hopefully he could call Jason this evening with good news. For whatever reason, he was dying to see him again. 

As it turned out, Jason had other plans. When he pulled up in front of the hospital he found a text waiting for him and he opened it with mounting anticipation.

‘You’re beautiful. Let’s get coffee. If you’re interested.’ 

Nico felt his face heat and he quickly typed ‘I am, and I’d love to.’

He would have to be crazy to not be interested. He shook his head and stepped out of the car with a large grin. He found he didn’t mind having his first accident, not if it meant meeting such an amazing guy. He started towards the hospital doors and found himself already looking forward to their coffee date.


End file.
